End of Summer '26

I am barely squeaking in a post in July. Last day. That sounds about right this time of summer. Kids are getting antsy, lots of bickering, back to school shopping, going to go school supply shopping in the next few days....it's the first time in 8 years I haven't had an elementary, very specific shopping list that usually cost around 65-75 dollars. Yesterday we were going through old supplies we already had and found so many things my kids can use. And why I haven't done this is year's past I have no idea. Although, they were resistant to the idea at first, which frustrated me. Why would we buy new items if we have perfectly good ones here? 

This morning my girl is at her 'Fish Camp', orientation to Highschool 8:00-11:30. That 7 am alarm was jarring. Macy's mom took them (my girl, Macy, and Parker) and I'm going to pick them all up. She sent a video of the girls walking in to school and she was so sad and wistful. I identified completely. My mind has been shifting to school mode, so last night I happened to look at our bus route schedule. GULP. High school starts at 7:15am here and gets out at 2:35. Her bus will pick up at 6:18 AM. What?! We are just over a mile from the school and she's getting picked up an hour before school? I should probably just focus on being grateful we have bus service, but this adjustment is going to be rough. Neither of us are morning people. Then, my son will get woken up for sure and he doesn't have his bus until 8:26 AM. His school hours are 8:55-4:05. Going to be a massive adjustment. 

School starts August 12 here. The countdown is on.

To rewind some, I did end up canceling our trip to the midwest. We were supposed to go around July 1 through July 9th. But, things haven't improved with my sister. Other than the text I got May 26 telling me she was home from hospital, I got nothing until June 25. Another text saying she wasn't ignoring me, she's taking space, love me, appreciates me. Nothing since then.  The tone of the text sounded reasonable, however my brother's been in touch w/ her (due to my prompting) and he said she told him we weren't on speaking terms. I asked him why she said that and he said he didn't know, didn't ask. That's a much different tone. In addition, she told him not to tell me anything about an upcoming surgery she has (or had by now). What? At this point, whatever. That's my feeling. You have things to work out, fine. Go ahead.  I did think about changing travel plans to go directly to my cousin's house and back, but ultimately the changes and the cost and just the travel for a shorter trip, I just said no. My son was super super disappointed, but sometimes it's just better to say no.

So, we basically had the whole month of July with no plans at all. On a really positive note, we spent a ton of time going to the Y. Like 4 times a week. In addition, my kiddos tried out pickleball and my son is obsessed with it. We bought an inexpensive paddle set and just started playing at the Y. So....we learned very quickly there is a lot of rules/protocol around court playing like you have to put your paddles down in a line. then when a court opens they take the next paddles laying there. You can't just pop over on an open court. In addition, some people take it very seriously....but then there's also 70+ year olds playing at the same time. Many of them were very kind in sharing rules/tips, etc. w/ the kids. Also, we've taken Hansen's friend Aarav and my girls friend Macy several times to the Y to work out, play pickle, and use the facility. It's been great.

In other July happenings my girl had a dog sitting job for a week last week and made $100 dollars. Hooray! My son got his phase 2 braces on a few weeks ago and just yesterday had to get 2 baby teeth extracted because they were 'stuck'. The way his new teeth grew in the last 2 were wiggly, but just not able to come out on their own. It was the first time we've had to do any dental 'work' as they haven't had any cavities, only cleanings. Because of this I wasn't sure about using laughing gas...but it came highly recommended so I decided to go for it. Turns out probably didn't need it, especially at the tune of $125 as insurance doesn't cover. They still numbed him up and the dentist took about 2 minutes max to get them out. My son was nervous several days beforehand about the extraction, but in the end it was a nonevent. Fast and fine.  I'll take it.

In the background I've been still furiously working on the remodel. And when I say furiously, I just mean lots and lots of research w/ chat G function. This tool has been beyond helpful for someone like me who can't visualize or make decisions. I've spent hours on it working through hardware options, layouts, paint colors, what sink, faucet, door style, etc....really everything tied to decisions I have to make w/ the remodel. It's been amazing.  These are things I expected to work through w/ the designer, but he charges an hourly rate AND working with him can be so frustrating. He makes you feel so good and on track during a visit. But afterwards the follow up and follow through just isn't there. Took 3 weeks to get a supplier over here to measure for doors/trim, etc. and then finally get the bid. That was most of July. Also, a few weeks ago I found a new carpenter through Aarav's mom, took a week, but we finally got the contract with all the specific materials I wanted. He brings an interpreter with him as he only speaks spanish. I finally figured out using english to spanish texts were helpful when we needed to communicate after the first visit, but the language barrier did make things take longer. Just yesterday I finally gave him a deposit check to make the base cabinets on the L perimeter. It's limping along.

Here's to a good next few weeks and kickoff to the school year. 6th and 9th grades here we come!

What our living room looks like right now. Floors installed (not finished) and no lower cabinets in the background kitchen. Still working off of card tables and temp chairs.